Just bought it. Drove it 150 miles home. idled kind of rough. I suspect a vacuum leak. Very little surface rust. No holes.





Getting help from local mechanic friend to assess the leaks.

 

Looks for suggestions to level out the front of the truck reduce some of the 40 year old body roll.

I know autofab has stuff. but I was wondering if there was something else I could do. I dont really want to lift it. 31" tires are fine for me. It has 302 to in it. I am wondering if its a mexican block. Its also two wheel drive.

I will change out the bushings and maybe upgrade the sway bar. But do I need one for the back as well?

 

New shocks, bushings, and a front swaybar will definitely improve handling. Use the OEM swaybar from a 75-79 Dent which mounts in front of the wheels instead of between the radius arms.

Add a rear swaybar later if needed. .. trucks are notoriously nose heavy and understeer at first steering input..

IIRC, 31s can fit with no lift.

 

Thanks HIO, If I use a 75 oem swaybar will I need to fab anything to make it work. Also, anyone got any ideas about reducing the rake of the truck? Could I use different springs or taller springs?

 

It's a bolt-in affair except for drilling the frame for four holes. Here's the setup of a 75-79 swaybar less the C-brackets which are kind of a pain to obtain because much of the donor's front end has to be disassembled. The C-brackets can also be obtained from an Econoline. Also, note that the brackets have an indexing pin which fits into a notch on the leading edge of the radius arms. The notch can be ground into your arms but it's worth noting that ya might think about getting donor arms if the price is right. Another benefit is that the entire donor can be rebuilt before installation instead of having your rig down for longer than necessary.

An additional note, springs from a bigger engine-equipped rig might be a good idea since your SB has a lil 302.. maybe ones from a 400 or 460 which will have a higher spring rate which can improve handling and address moment weight transfer.



The C-brackets located under the spring... it is sandwiched and bolted over the I-beam. Ignore the Hotckiss decal, it's there for the unknowing:



Fixing the rake...If the days of heavy hauling are mostly over, then consider flipping the rear spring hanger (the front one) for a "half-flip" and adding some pinion shims to correct the induced nose-up angle.. 4° shims should do it. Of course, measure pinion angles before embarking on the endeavor. Links for spring hanger flips are in the Tech Thread Compilation linked in my signature.

If your rig has add-a-leaf helper springs, ya might take a look at removing them for an extra 1/2-inch.

 

Nice truck, glad you're keeping it mostly stock at least with the engine/trans.

 

Hey Folks so heres an update. It know its been a while since I shared with the group. Through alot of planning, budgeting and research Pepe is coming together!